Keanu Trades in Black Leather for Dadcore Casual in First ‘Matrix 4’ Photos

This is not the black-clad, cyberpunk Neo of the past.

Before taking his mom to the Oscars, Keanu Reeves was spotted on the streets of San Francisco last week as filming on the fourth film in the Matrix franchise officially began. And because they were shooting on city streets instead of a soundstage or remote location, plenty of people were around to snap pictures from the set of the long-awaited sequel.

Lots of the photos aren’t great — most are cell phone photos taken by amateurs after all — but they are revealing. Most noticeably, Keanu’s Neo appears to have traded in the cyberpunk, all-black outfit he donned in the first three films for a decidedly less futuristic look: dark blazer, gray T-shirt, jeans, and a black beanie.

Keanu looks like just another San Franciscan employed by a tech company or VC firm. Not, you know, the one who can save humanity from destruction by the machines.

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And though Keanu isn’t a father, his look could be described as dadcore: comfortable, practical clothing that’s become stylish by not trying to be stylish. It’s a far cry from the uber-cool head-to-toe black he donned in the first three films after Neo had been red-pilled by Morpheus.

The best photos were taken by Amanda Peterson, whose work was posted to the Instagram page of the San Francisco Examiner. Notable among them is a photo of Reeves embracing Carrie-Anne Moss, who is reprising the role of Trinity in the new movie.

Other folks captured what looks like the setup for an action sequence, some scaffolding on the roof of a building, as well as Reeves shooting at Lands End, a San Francisco park at the mouth of the Golden Gate.

Unfortunately for those of us who are super curious about where the story will go — particularly after Neo and Trinity seemed to pass away in The Matrix Revolutions — these photos don’t reveal much. We won’t know what happens for sure until the as-yet-untitled film comes to theaters on March 21, 2021.